Gay & Seeking Asylum

I just happened upon this video and it’s very fitting when considering my previous post. We must work harder to create safe havens for LGBT individuals around the world, until that day when all people are loved, accepted, and safe in their home.

I’ve been haunted lately by the images of teenagers Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni as they wept and waited for their execution, pleading for their lives. There are questions about their case, and whether or not they were executed for their consensual homosexual acts or not, but regardless, hundreds of people are executed in Iran and other places for simply being who they are.

There are people and organizations working to make change around the world. Please consider joining up with Amnesty International and making a recurring donation. When atrocities like these and in many other categories appear around the globe Amnesty is always there fighting for justice, peace, and human rights. I have the utmost respect and gratitude for Amnesty International, and if I’m lucky maybe someday I will work for them.

Jenna

Wow, Beau. Thanks for posting this. I think when people think of rights abuses in the Middle Eat, they focus on women and religious minorities only. I think this is a side of the story that definitely needs to be told. Thanks again for putting this up.

And on a completely random note, I love this blog you've got going here! AWESOME!

njcronk

The Koran was built upon a culture that also embraced the Judeo-Christian scriptures (the Old Testament to Christians). When are people going to get it that the intolerance and judgment of this text were not God-inspired, but bi-products of the documents being passed through thousands of hands, absorbing cultural biases along the way? The Bible and the Koran are historical documents with error, based on a long ago inspiration to do what is good and just, but changed throughout history. When we read these historical texts, it should only be interpreted through a filter of love and compassion. When it is not, it becomes a weapon. Sacred texts are like fire – they can be used for good, or for evil, and people should be trained to use them safely. JMHO.

If it isn't about love, it isn't about God.

Jenna

Wow, Beau. Thanks for posting this. I think when people think of rights abuses in the Middle Eat, they focus on women and religious minorities only. I think this is a side of the story that definitely needs to be told. Thanks again for putting this up.

And on a completely random note, I love this blog you've got going here! AWESOME!

njcronk

The Koran was built upon a culture that also embraced the Judeo-Christian scriptures (the Old Testament to Christians). When are people going to get it that the intolerance and judgment of this text were not God-inspired, but bi-products of the documents being passed through thousands of hands, absorbing cultural biases along the way? The Bible and the Koran are historical documents with error, based on a long ago inspiration to do what is good and just, but changed throughout history. When we read these historical texts, it should only be interpreted through a filter of love and compassion. When it is not, it becomes a weapon. Sacred texts are like fire – they can be used for good, or for evil, and people should be trained to use them safely. JMHO.